Red Sox Snap 7-Game Losing Streak Against AL East Opponents, Lose A Third Of Their Lineup In The Process
I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the Red Sox snapped a six-game losing streak against the Orioles, which also ended a seven-game losing streak against AL East opponents. The bad news is that one third of the lineup got fucked up pretty good.
In order:
They’re calling it a left-hand bruise for Hanley Ramirez and a right hamstring injury for Dustin Pedroia. That’s a relief, seeing as some feared an ACL/MCL kind of injury for Pedroia, especially the way this season has been going.
UPDATE: The Red Sox just called up outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., infielder Deven Marrero, and right-hander Jonathan Aro (no idea, never heard of him) and they just announced that Dustin Pedroia is headed to the DL. Oh, and they optioned Joe Kelly to Pawtucket like I told them to yesterday. Carrabis running the damn team, benching guys and sending dudes to Pawtucket like you read about.
Oh, and David Ortiz smoked a line drive home run to dead center. That’s his fifth home run in his last 13 games, a span in which he has a 1.029 OPS, so let’s pump the brakes on the “Papi’s done” train…again.
But beyond all the injuries that we witnessed on Wednesday night, the real story was how Weird Haircut Clay Buchholz continues to roll. Seven innings, one earned run, seven strikeouts. After that start, he’s gotten his ERA down to 3.68, and he’s sporting a 2.48 ERA since he got his weird haircut back on May 10. Also, if you take out that disaster of a start in Yankee Stadium back on April 12, where he gave up 9 ER in 3.1 innings, he’d have a 2.91 ERA for the year. With the win against the Orioles, Buchholz is now unbeaten in his last five starts, and hasn’t allowed a home run over his last six.
So this begs the question, should the Red Sox trade Buchholz? I think they have to, right? On one hand, he has a very affordable and team-friendly club option for 2016 worth $13 million. But on the other hand, that’s part of the reason why you could get a nice return for him now that he’s pitching so well. If I’m the Red Sox, I have to pull the trigger on a Buchholz trade, sooner rather than later. We know him all too well. He’s due for some kind of weird ass injury, where he strains his neck sleeping the wrong way or something, and we don’t see him again for months — and when he comes back, he sucks again. It’s Buchholz 101. With the exception of the first half of the 2013 season, Buchholz’s trade value has never been higher than it is right now.
I think the Red Sox need to sell high on Buchholz and free up a rotation spot for 2016, so that it can be filled by one of the big free agent fish this coming offseason in David Price, Johnny Cueto or Jordan Zimermann. The “I think we have five number ones” thing was cute for about a week, and then we all came back to planet earth where you can’t contend for a World Series title without an ace. Either one of them will command a huge contract, but do you think the Nationals are upset about signing Max Scherzer to that monster deal? Not yet, at least. Worry about that stuff later.
PS – How about our boy Gary Striewski giving the Section 10 Podcast a shoutout on NESN after the game?